A mom thought she was filming a tender moment with her young son until she suddenly realized what he was plotting to do.

Spending quality time with your kids from a young age is hugely important, not least when it comes to mothers. In 2016, a study published in the Economic Journal concluded that young children who spent more time with their mothers from the ages of 3 and 7 benefited from improved cognitive and social skills.

Lisa Joan, a mom and artist based in British Columbia, Canada, has always made an effort to spend quality time with her 5-year-old son. She may want to keep a closer eye on him next time, though, if the video she recently uploaded to her TikTok, lisajoanart, is anything to go by.

Joan originally started filming their interaction in the hope of capturing a rare moment of calm in the otherwise hectic life of her young son.

“He was brushing my hair and he was being gentle and focused so I wanted to take a video,” Joan told Newsweek. “He’s usually a very busy kid so it was cute to see him so calm and confident.”

For the briefest of moments, mother and son were at peace. Unfortunately, unknownst to Joan, her son was brandishing more than just a hair brush.

“Then I saw the scissors,” she said.

Joan’s immediate reaction was one of understandable amusement. “I laughed,” she said. “They appeared out of nowhere so I thought it was funny. He had gone to get a hair elastic and I guess he went to the kitchen and got the scissors.”

It was just as well that she saw the funny side in it all. Soon after discovering he was holding a large pair of scissors, she realized he had also started to give her an unsolicited haircut.

“He cut two or three inches off a small chunk of it,” Joan said.

Even so, Joan couldn’t help but smile. “I love it. Best haircut I’ve ever had,” she said. “It feels like it’s a right of passage for every small child to cut their own or someone else’s hair.”

It was only after posting her video to TikTok under the handle lisajoanart, that Joan realized just how true a statement that was. At the time of writing, her video has been watched over 870,000 times, with viewers flocking to share similar experiences.

“One time, my son came to brush my hair when he was 2 years old,” one wrote. “It was so nice, I was thinking where did he find this nice big brush? Turned around and it was the toilet brush.”

Another said: “My son was playing with my hair once around this age and I was talking on the phone to my hubby, all of a sudden I heard/felt a snip he cut a huge chunk of hair out.”

A third added: “I let my daughters spray my hair and brush it out. 5 min in I realized she was spraying me with vinegar.”

“I had no idea so many people would share similar stories,” Joan said. She hopes that her video and the discussion around it reminds parents out there to “find joy in their kids.”

“Children are so naturally curious and creative and it’s just hair,” she said. “It was a great teaching moment to remind him to ask first, but I love that he showed interest in keeping up my appearances on my behalf.”